James Bayliss expressed his fears after his partner Susan Parr saw a Fighting Gun on sale in two shops at the Queensway Shopping Centre in Well- i'th-Lane, Rochdale. His son Alan, aged 11, wanted to buy one, but mum Susan, of Queen's Drive, Queensway, refused to let him. Mr Bayliss is concerned that they could cause a lot of damage if they fell into the wrong hands.

He said: "The gun fire solid black pellets could take someone's eye out and they should be stopped before someone gets hurt. They only cost £4 which a lot of children could afford out of their pocket money, and I know of a child as young as six who has one of these guns. They would be all right in the hands of responsible adults, but not children."

Shopkeeper Raheel Ahmed, owner of the Attractions shop, refuted claims that the toy pellet guns he sells could be dangerous weapons. He said the BB toy guns were not powerful enough to smash glass.

To prove his point he allowed an Observer reporter to fire a 6MM BB Fighting Gun, the most powerful of the BB range at a glass photo frame in his shop.

She said: "Although the gun looked realistic, the plastic pellet did bounce off the glass without causing any damage, when the gun was fired at close range."

It is illegal to sell the guns to under 14s and the instructions warn users not to fire the pellets at humans or animals.

Mr Ahmed said: "I am not breaking any law. We are very strict about not selling guns to children aged under 14. The guns are toys. They cannot do much harm, and they are popular."